Cardiac toxicity due to chemo

Hi:

I am a 47 year old woman who has rheumatoid arthritis. 5 years ago I took ENBREL, since then I have gone through a medical nightmare. I suddenly developed atrial fib, then congestive heart failure, then endometrial hyperplasia (pre-cancer), then severe anemia, then another bout of congestive heart failure (oh had lots of unsuccessful cardioversions), then more atrial fib, the was diagnosed with stage 3 lymphoma after having a CT in order to do an ablation. Chemo was tough, but successful and I am now in remission for past 6 months. Unfortunately, the adriamycin killed my heart muscle and I was dx with dilated cardiomyopathy. I actually was admitted to the hospital after an unsuccessful cardioversion, and then went into cardiogenic shock. I guess I nearly died a few times that night, but they were able to put in an interaortic balloon pump. A few days later, I had it taken out, and then a few days after than I had an ICD put in. 2 weeks later I had a severe pain in my chest, went to ER and discovered that one of the leads had poked through my heart wall and I was bleeding into my pericardium. Had to have unit taken out, lead replaced and then they put te device back in.

My big question is that now that I have the ICD will my heart stabilize and will I ever have any energy again? Besides the constant worry about a remission of the lymphoma, I also worry about my heart getting worse, and knowing that I would not be eligible for a heart transplant until I am either 3 or 5 years cancer free.

Not really sure how to handle this recovery and how much of my life I will be able to gain back.

Thanks.
Ingrid

2 Comments

wow

by Tracey_E - 2009-11-19 08:11:49

You sure have been through the ringer!!!

Only your doctor can tell you if it will give you more energy and keep your heart from getting worse. I'd like to be able to tell you that the ICD will fix everything but they're not magic cure-alls. The pacemaker part of the device will make sure your heart won't miss beats or go too slowly. The ICD will reset your heart if fibrillation gets out of control or it stops. They're an excellent safety net but neither of them can force your heart muscle to respond. They can help your heart function by synchronizing the beats, but it can't make your heart beat stronger.

Congratulations on your remission, may you stay that way.

Old news but relevant

by USMCR - 2013-06-28 10:06:47

This is an old thread I found searching for the keyword Chemo.

And it sounds way to familiar. I was diagnosed with stage 3-2-B hodgkins lymphoma at age 53. I was hospitalized for a week following my first chemo treatment with zero WBC.

4 years later I during a stress test at the hospital my heart took off and was recorded at over 350 bpm requiring cpr and shock paddles.

Went immediately to surgery and had a St Judes dual chamber ICD implanted.

First operation resulted in a lead being installed through the heart muscle. One week later it was "repositioned"

I am still today short of breath, tire easily and have regular episodes of rapid and/or irregular heart beat.

Cardiologist said it was likely due to the chemo, Oncologist says it wasn't likely Go figure.

You know you're wired when...

You fondly named your implanted buddy.

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I am just thankful that I am alive and that even though I have this pacemaker it is not the end of the world.